


Six Men (and two dogs) and a Truck

by Madilayn



Category: Emergency!
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-20
Updated: 2018-04-09
Packaged: 2019-04-05 01:49:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,989
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14033535
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Madilayn/pseuds/Madilayn
Summary: A series of chapters all stand alone about Engine 51 – both the original Crown Firecoach (which is referred to by Chet Kelly as “Big Red”) and the Ward LaFrance (very much beloved by the fandom and known by them as “Big Red”)Unsurprisingly, Mike Stoker will feature heavily, though all of the A-Shift boys (and a few others) will put their two cents in as well





	1. Mike Stoker (1)

**Author's Note:**

> You will notice that this chapter has a (1) after the name. That is because there will be several chapters over time from Mike's PoV. 
> 
> Well - it IS his Engine!

Most people think that the Engineer job is a cushy one. You don’t need to go rushing into fires. Clean and dry at the Engine – and out of danger.

Oh, the bliss of the ignorant! Sometimes I long for the days when I also thought that being an Engineer was the cushy job of the Department.

It’s time for me to put a few things straight about being an Engineer.

Firstly, let me admit that I absolutely do have a novel tucked in my gear locker in the Engine. However, it’s currently buried under a technical manual that I have to go through, as well as folders containing HAZMAT information, mains pressure updates, hydrant information and the myriad other documentation and forms that we have to keep on my Girl. I actually need to give it a good clean and tidy. 

I also keep a nice stash of packets of nuts and the like. Every Engineer does. It helps keep the crew going on shifts where a meal break is pretty non-existent. There are also plastic cups in there – hydration is probably the one thing that is easy! Remembering to drink… ahhh – there’s the trick! Oh, and my knitting. Don’t laugh. Most Engineers knit. In fact, we have a competition every year. But if you tell anybody I'll have to kill you.

Anyway – about being an Engineer. Lots of Firefighters want to study for the Engineers exam. And lots then drop out when they find out exactly what that means. 

It’s not just reading some manuals, doing an orientation on an Engine and then sitting an exam. 

It’s one day a week for 12 months in the classroom, or in various equipment bays learning the ins and outs of every model of Engine or Truck, and every piece of equipment that will go on them. In fact, the only course harder would be the Paramedic one. And that’s only because you’re dealing with learning about human physiology and medications as well as a lot of psych, PLUS equipment. 

Yeah – OK – I compared courses with Roy. Personally – I think that the Engineer course is easier.

Engineers have more equipment, but we don’t really have to factor in humans. 

Most of us also have degrees in Fire Engineering, but you can do that over several years, and it’s not a mandatory requirement - yet. I’ve heard rumours that the Department wants it to be mandatory that all Officers from Engineer up have it.

Yeah – we’re Officers. 2IC at our stations usually – or in the big stations with several Engines or Trucks, the Engineer can be the Lieutenant in charge of that vehicle’s crew. 

It’s ironic that I’m currently writing this as I sit in Big Red as the others are inside helping with the (apparent) chaos there.

Often, if I’m not needed elsewhere, and there is a handy hydrant, I make sure that the water tanks on Big Red are full. It’s done every time after a fire – engines never leave a scene without a full tank of water if there is a hydrant available. 

But we do plenty of things where we use water, and there isn’t a hydrant handy, or very little water is needed. (We do have a hydrant outside the station so I can use that to fill the tank)

So – I always check for a hydrant and do a quick reading on the volume of water I’m carrying. I check – but I can always tell when I need to fill her up. The water load affects her handling – too little and she starts to get a little sloppy cornering. The water sloshes around in the tank and I can tell you now, that moving Big Red through the streets at speed is no joke when she’s got less than half a tank of water in her. 

It’s almost as though she’s complaining that she’s not ready to go. Cap usually gives me a glare about it if it happens on the way to a call. 51 is his first assignment as Captain, so he’s close enough to his own Engineering days to know exactly what’s going on.

He’s also as big an Engine nut as I am and knows Big Red almost as well as I do. He’s driven her a few times – he may be a Captain, but he’s still a Fireman and an Engineer, and he has to keep his own skills current.

I don’t think it’s a fancy, but Red doesn’t handle quite as well for him as she does for me. She’s loyal to her Engineers, is Big Red. But I like to imagine that she and I have a special bond – that she doesn’t have with the other two. 

After all, I was the Engineer that popped her metaphorical cherry.

I can still remember how she seemed to know what was going on as we climbed aboard, ready to take our new Girl out on her first incident. I felt her engine thrumming, felt her leap to life as I activated the lights and sirens and pulled out of the barn, slowing down to aloe Roy and John to swing onto the back.

Cap and my other girl, Georgie, thought it was hilarious. I didn’t know whether to be appalled or amused when she and Joanne DeSoto turned up later that day with sparkling apple cider and sorts of “girls night out” food to have a “Cherry Popping Party” for Big Red. 

Do women really do that? I mean, I know Georgie and Joanne did (apparently it appealed to their senses of humour); but do other women? Who knows! I have enough problems keeping u with Georgie (and I've got Hank's help with that) - the only other woman I have time to keep up with is Big Red.

Oh - and my Mom. But that's entirely different. (Hi Mom!)

Anyway, Big Red’s a very different creature from the Crown. I loved the Crown – you never forget your first Engine (oh good lord – another sexual double entendre….), but not in the same way I love Big Red. I definitely don’t miss the open cabin (sometimes, I felt like I would never get dry or warm again), or the fact that human comfort was a very far second on the Crown. Only the driver had a proper seat – the Officer and jump seats were actually that – jump seats. Captain Hammer, Marco and Chet were perched on top of hoses – not so much seats as a flat surface on top of hoses. I don’t blame them for clinging on for dear life. I remember doing the same myself when I was a lineman. 

There’s reason we firefighters prefer to ride standing on the running boards on older Engines – the ride was far more comfortable and safe! And if you had to leap for safety, then from the running board you had less to fall from.

But our Crown did her service: and did it well. I made sure that she was kept in pristine condition, and I know that the Old Girl is still serving one of the volunteer groups. I’ve heard mention that she’s in Nevada. Maybe one day I’ll go and look her up – check that she’s still being treated like the Lady she is. 

Ahhh…. Big Red. She’s different. We all have actual seats in her, and the closed cabin keeps us safe, warm and dry. You have no idea how blissful it is when you’re wet and bitterly cold to climb into that cab and turn the heating on. I can actually hear myself think, rather than have to listen to Chet and Marco’s teeth chattering from cold. 

Of course, I make them clean and wipe up water and other assorted muck from their rear cabin when we get back.

Big Red – when she leaps into action, and for all her size – has a lightness about her. Technology that has improved since the Crown was brought into service has made driving Red less of a wrestling match and more of a caress. She’s heavier than the Crown, but it’s like the difference between a young woman getting up to dance and a more mature woman. Both are graceful and skilled, but the young woman has a seeming lightness and more energy to her that draws the eye.

Big Red is pretty much worshiped by her crews. Chet was the one who gave her the nickname Big Red, but C shift were the ones to formalize it by including the name on the station staff roster. Our major task each shift is making sure that she shines. I’m known to be pretty demanding on what she looks like.

Cap is worse though. Don’t think I don’t notice how his hand caresses her as he runs it down the chassis. He sees everything – and if you can’t use the chrome as a mirror, then it’s not good enough. Let him find a fingerprint, or a smear on her duco or (god forbid) a scratch and then our normal easygoing Cap vanishes, and Captain Stanley appears until Big Red is perfection again. 

Suits me fine. Well, except for Cap’s subtle ownership appropriation attempts. I may have to do something about that. 

He’s not her Engineer. Red is Mine. Well yeah, OK – ours. The three Engineers of 51. Red is ours. But especially mine. According to Marco, I have this “look” on my face when I first see Red when I arrive on shift. Like she hasn’t been cared for well enough in my absence.

I didn’t realise it showed.

Did you know that the divorce rate amongst Engineers in the Fire Department is higher than for other ranks? Wives tend to get jealous of our Engines.

I guess Hank and I are lucky. Georgie and I have known each other all our lives, and she didn’t meet Hank until he was already an Engineer and was used to our endless discussion over fire engines and trucks. When the C-Shift Engineer got divorced, and B-Shifts fiancée dumped him, Chet made some quip to Roy about was he glad he didn’t take the promotion and then asked how Cap managed.

At that point, the three of us, Hank, Georgie and I, hadn’t let anybody other than my parents know our relationship situation (my parents because they had the same relationship). So, Hank’s answer was doubly embarrassing to me!

So Chet asked Cap what his secret was, and Hank explained that this was his second marriage. That his wife had left him when he was an Engineer, but that that divorce had nothing to do with him being an Engineer (well, that was sort of accurate but that's Hanks's story to tell, not mine). He also said he got lucky with Georgie because when he met her he was already an Engineer and that I shared a house with her, so she was used to men with a fire engine obsession.

He also said that the other part of it was to give his wife as much attention and love as he did his Engine. Followed by several salient (and bordering on salacious and far too much information) comments on said attention to wife delivered in the dry way that only Hank Stanley can. (I'm not entirely sure that I didn't go as red as Big Red at some of what he said. In fact, I'm pretty sure that he said some stuff JUST to get a rise out of me.)

Roy DeSoto was nodding – he’s been married for 13 years and it looks like he’s found the secret as well.

But I think that Cap scared Chet and John off marriage, and even made Marco want to take a step back from his steady girlfriend.

So – if I’m not filling the water tank or doing some cleaning of the gear locker (I’ve just made a note to do that next), if we’re in a residential area and it’s not school time, then I can guarantee that I’ll be busy with the hordes of children that a fire truck attracts.

I lock everything down except the lights, remove the keys from the ignition and spend my time supervising kids crawling all over my Big Red. I know that when we get back, there will be sticky finger marks to polish out, but that is a labour of love. If only one kid from the hordes that climb over her becomes a Firefighter and goes on to be an Engineer, then it’s all worthwhile.

I like to think I can tell – which kids it will be. They’re the ones that start asking all the hard questions. Sometimes they’re just quiet as they touch her lightly, but reverently. I’ve seen a couple settling into the drivers chair and a look of absolute contentment and “right” settles on them.

One day, a very small girl sat there and looked me in the eye. “My seat. My engine.” A little hand touched the steering wheel reverently and all I could do was nod. I hoped she would get her wish one day.

It’s traditional that our Engines and Trucks are all referred to as female, but the Squads and Copters seem to be referred to as male. If our largest equipment is female, why can’t the operators be?

I still grin at the tiny woman who put out a trash fire and had a log all ready for us when we arrived. Chet and Marco said later on that if she did that good with just an extinguisher, imagine what she would be like with a proper hose and training.

Cap was amused, but also impressed. And ever so slightly intimidated. The amusement came from just how tiny she was I think. She must have weighed 50 pounds dripping wet, and the extinguisher was half her height (and probably half her weight too).

I’m keeping an eye on the place we’re at right now. They’ve been in there a hell of a long time and though this was called as a fire, and then cancelled…. Cap had an instinct that had him say that we’d check it out just in case.

I’m the Crew’s eyes and ears outside. I let them know if anybody is approaching and keep anybody without any business there away. And after an incident with a few people going berserk inside, Cap and I have worked out a signal using the HT. He doesn’t have to say anything, just a series of connection clicks and I can call for backup – either more crews or cops.

My instinct is starting to kick in now. They have been in there too long. Can’t hurt to prime Red for action. Maybe get a hydrant connection ready. Just in case.

Because Big Red and I – we have a reputation to protect. To be there where we’re needed, when we’re needed.


	2. Captain Hank Stanley

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chet and Johnny ask the Cap a question about Mike and Big Red. Cap isn't fully paying attention and takes the question seriously. He regrets it almost immediately

I’m not that far from being an Engineer myself – this is my first station as Captain and it’s been a real learning curve. Like all new Captains, I did some relief shifts for about 6 months after being promoted – just to learn the job. But still, to me it seems odd to put a newly minted Captain in charge of 51’s A-Shift. They had a Reputation that I really hadn’t paid attention to. They weren’t incompetent (actually their reputation made a special mention of just how good a crew they were) or even insubordinate (most of the time). Just… high spirited and a little unconventional. 

I didn’t know then that was also my reputation. 

It was a nice mix of experience in the crew. Mike Stoker was assigned in his first assignment as an Engineer and he had the very experienced line team of Kelly and Lopez. I knew Mike well - I’d been his Mentor since he was a rookie, and I was a new Engineer. Even then Mike’s obsession with the Engine had been evident. I’d also worked occasionally with Marco Lopez (also known as Bells – for his five alarm chilli). He had a reputation as a good lineman, who could read a fire extraordinarily well, and the way he put absolute trust in the Engineer to do his job (i.e. – get water to them to put on the fire). I heard Lopez – once – give his opinion of an Engineer who failed in what appeared to be a simple task of doing just that.

Kelly, I didn’t really know more than what the handover from Captain Hammer told me. I good lineman, willing to learn still and he and Lopez made an excellent team.  
Anyway – it seems that when the three Engine crew came together at the brand-new Station 51, they just clicked and became one of those semi-legendary crewings that every Captain dreams of. All three of them just seem to know what is needed and don’t actually need to speak to get the job done (which is probably a good thing considering the reluctance of Mike Stoker to speak at all). 

Paramedics were completely new to me (and the County) and I was interested to see how they worked. Another dream team there – they balance each other out and are able to think just enough outside the box that I am proud to say makes us the shift and station with the highest rescue success rate in the County.

Fortunately, my crew have been exceedingly patient with that learning curve and have kept me from making too big a fool of myself. In public at least. In private, they seem to get a real kick out of sitting back and letting me put both feet in it on occasion.

Even those who are the more “mature”. (I use that word guardedly – those two more mature are my Engineer, Mike Stoker, and my Senior Paramedic (another new thing I had to get used to – Paramedics), Roy DeSoto. Normally they exert a somewhat calming influence but there have been times when they have out-twitted the twits. Mike has an unfair advantage I think. He knows me far too well and can tell when I’m tipping into paranoia. Sometimes he pulls me back. Sometimes… 

I’m learning to distinguish between genuine concerns or complaints and (usually) Kelly and Gage pushing buttons (or rather attempting to). The first time that they raised it, I wasn’t so certain, so I took their concerns seriously.

And their concern was what exactly did Mike Stoker do on the occasions when he was left alone with the Engine. It took me by surprise because it was a year into my tenure before they brought it up – just after we got the new one.

Oh boy – our new Ward Le France – what a beauty! I’ve crewed on both Trucks and Engines in my time and love them all. But this one... there’s something special about Big Red and the men that crew her. I’ve subbed on the other two 51 shifts and it’s there in all three shifts.

Our Big Red – she is a living creature. As much a part of the crew as the humans. Something about her seems to inspire the almost worship of her that the respective shift Engineers have for her. But with Mike and Big Red, it’s something else. I swear he’s in love with her. I once caught him sleeping in the cab – he claimed that he was having trouble sleeping in the dorm. I can see how reluctantly he hands her over to B-Shift, and how eagerly he claims her back from C-Shift.

Anyhow – Kelly and Gage asked what does Stoker do when he’s left to look after the Engine.

I tried to tell them – really I did. Having been an Engineer myself, I knew exactly how much work and study we have to do to keep up with all the technology we’re in charge of. I still have to keep up with it. Reminds me – I have to sit my requalification’s soon. I’d better check so I can arrange for one of the others to cover for me.

Anyway – I tried to explain it. It was at that point that I should have recognized the signs. But y’see – it’s so rare that Gage and Kelly team up on a prank that nobody has learned to be wary. And so, they raised the concern, and I addressed it as a real concern.

When they looked skeptical, I asked the question that, with hindsight, they had been waiting for me to ask.

“What’s the problem, guys?”

“Well, Cap,” Kelly said looking completely innocent, “the other day Gage and I were cleaning the racks and Stoker’s gear box was open. These were on the top.”

These two radiated concern and innocence as they showed me a stash of magazines. I was incredibly impressed. This one too some planning – and not a few craft skills. Never in my life have I been so glad to not be drinking coffee as I was at the point where Gage solemnly opened one of the “skin” mags and folded out the “centerfold”.   
It was a very good photograph of Big Red. The sun was hitting her in all the right places, chrome gleaming and her duco showing an almost mirror finish. Damn, she looked good!! 

I had to give compliments to whichever of these two twits was the photographer. And which one had called in god knows how many favours to do the mockup of a skin mag featuring Fire Engines and Trucks. 

To add to the artistry, as I looked through the small pile, there was an actual copy of Playboy in there and idly I wondered whose it was and if they would go looking for it. 

They had been obviously planning this for months – there were catalogues in there from both Crown and Ward LaFrance which you can’t just pop down to the local car lot for. 

One thing was still missing in this puzzle.

“So, what has this to do with your concern about Mike and his activities when he’s left with the Engine?” My curiosity was completely aroused by now – I wanted to see exactly what twisted logic they would come up with. I was tempted to take a sip of coffee but decided that would be unwise at this point.

“Y’see Cap,” Gage said, all boyish earnestness, “we’re worried about how it looks from a PR point of view. I mean, we represent the County. And do we really want to have one of our people caught by a member of the general public looking at… at… well, at this!” he said finally, displaying with a flourish the centerfold of Big Red. 

“Yeah Cap! What if some poor innocent kiddie saw it?” put in the ever-helpful Chet Kelly.

Oh yeah – these two were good. I couldn’t help it – my imagination got too much of an eyeful of my calm, silent Engineer getting his salacious thrills looking at photos of fire trucks.

I had to get them out of my office – before I choked to death trying not to laugh. “Will you twits get out of my office!” I finally got out. “And return those things to wherever you purloined them from.”

“We’re just concerned,” Chet said. “For Mike.”

I glared, and the two stood and collected their stash before moving out of my office, discussing that perhaps they ought to get everybody together to talk to Mike about the matter. “And close the door,” I shouted after them, my face starting to go blue with the effort of not laughing – AND so I could get on the phone and let Georgie know the joke. 

I don’t think I’ll intervene. They obviously have a much grander plan in mind and it might be amusing to see how it ends. And to wonder what Mike will do in revenge.

At least, they didn’t find Mike’s knitting.


	3. Roy DeSoto

I like Mike Stoker. I get him. In fact, before I partnered up with John Gage, I could have been Mike Stoker. Silent, reserved, just doing my job. 

I completely get the whole not needing to speak unless it’s necessary. To be able to draw that cocoon around yourself so that you are part of and yet separate. I could even have been an Engineer. 

Until I discovered that being a Paramedic was what I wanted to do with my whole being. 

Mike helped both Chet and I study for the Engineering exams. He was endlessly patient with us when we were asking questions or slow to pick something up. Mike was generous with his own knowledge – official and unofficially learned on the job.   
But one thing he never divulged was what he actually did when he was left alone with the Engine when we were on a run. 

He gave us the official line – make sure everything was ready to go – because you never know. If there’s a hydrant, fill the tank. Catch up on technical manuals.   
Yeah. Of course. His gear box – the one that every Engineer has and that has its own space on the Engine – sometimes seems like some sort of magical container. Snacks appear with regularity, as do cups and even things like Kleenex or a towel. 

But he never lets us see what’s in there. 

I have seen him in action with the kids that always seem to materialize whenever an Engine or Truck appears on a scene or when kids appear at the Station. He just shuts certain things down and gives them a guided tour.

And then when they’ve gone, pulls in Chet and Marco to return Big Red to her pristine self. I sometimes think that anything that mars that shine physically hurts him.

Then again, our Engine is a thing of beauty. Once it gets into your soul, an Engine never leaves it. It’s what Big Red has done with all of us. 

Mike’s a hard taskmaster when it comes to the condition of both of the vehicles. Even more so than Cap. I dunno what the other shifts are like on an ongoing basis (I’ve subbed on both shifts, but never for more than a couple of shifts in a row) and I do tend to follow my normal routine of squad maintenance during those too.

But I know for sure that B and C Shift Engineers don’t inspect the Squad. 

Anyway – it was after I did pass my Engineers exams in the top 10, and it looked like I would join that fraternity that was Engineers that Mike took me aside and explained somethings to me. 

After all, he said, I’d be working as an Engineer within a month. So, it was best to get the whole idea of the job. From another Engineer. Secret Engineers Business.

I did start to panic a little at that point. Mike Stoker has a really wicked sense of humor and has absolutely no hesitation in gaining revenge for any prank played on him. It may not happen immediately, but it will happen.

Anyway, I wasn’t involved in the last act of insanity perpetrated by Johnny and Chet that was directed at Mike (and I say insanity because that pair should know by now what will happen to them) so I was feeling confident. At first.

Until the knitting. I really thought that Mike was going after revenge one person at a time. 

He was giving me some more information and we were on the hose bed checking hose up there and swapping out some coils and cleaning the monitor and just mentioned it briefly. 

Now Big Red is in a class of her own. The Squad is where John and I operate from, but both of us are still firemen at heart, and Big Red is a magnificent beast. At some time, every person in the station has just stood and looked at her in awe. 

Did you know, when Mike starts her up, you can feel the rumble in the bay through the soles of your shoes. Same when he brings her in again. He usually lets her idle for a minute or so before he shuts her down - It was one of the first things that he explained to Chet and me. The proper shutdown procedure for Big Red when you come back into the barn. All this is while the linemen are behind her pulling down the used hose in readiness for cleaning and hanging.

It seemed a bit odd – we’d both done the training and had passed that part that dealt with driving the actual Engines. Until Mike started to explain it. He made us understand what it was all about. 

That rumble before she’s fully shut down. That’s the Engineer making sure that all her gearing is correctly in place and shut down. First the pump gear. Engine in neutral. Engage the pump gear. Run it for 15 or 20 seconds to zero it back. Listening to the gears go back to their resting place. He had us check the gauges and we could see them slide back to zero. 

It was amazing – Mike could tell just from the sound she made. 

Then, finally, disengage the pump gear and engage the engine gears. Let those settle into place. Put the Engine back into first, to get her ready to roll. Then shut down in turn the lights, siren, pumps and finally those massive batteries that power our Big Red, before finally switching everything off.

The silence after she shuts off is deafening. The cessation of that rumble under your feet says we’re at rest. 

And then we swarm over her, drones attending to their Queen. Cleaning, polishing, maintaining. Making her ready for the next time she rumbles to life and rolls majestically out of the firehouse.

Yeah – I’m a Paramedic to my core. I don’t want to swop the Squad for an Engine. 

But that doesn’t mean I don’t love our Engine, because once Fire Engines get into your blood they stay there.

**Author's Note:**

> I did some research on what quals you need to be an Engineer and couldn't find anything from the 1970's but currently you need to have done a degree in Fire Engineering. So I've mentioned it in here as being considered to consider that as a mandatory qualification.
> 
> And we all know Mike. He would have already done it and more.


End file.
